Personal Bests

A Look Back.

Of all the Project Food Blog challenges, I found this to be one of the most difficult. Challenge #8 is called Piece of Cake: create a sweet or savory baked good featuring the following seasonal ingredient: pumpkin.

It seems so easy, right? But therein lies the challenge – it’s too easy. And let’s be honest, who wants to see another pumpkin recipe the weekend after Thanksgiving? Not me. So I dug deep and tried to think beyond pumpkin pie and pumpkin bread.

With Thanksgiving behind us, we are all suddenly inundated with holiday decorations, lights, and images everywhere. Personally I welcome it with open arms – I am a total Christmas freak, and December is hands down my favorite month of the year.

And nothing gets me in the holiday spirit quite like DESSERT! Pumpkin is not just for Thanksgiving anymore – if this doesn’t make it onto your holiday dinner party menus then you are craaaazaay…

Don’t let the long ingredient list scare you – you probably already have over half of this list in your pantry!

To Prepare: It starts with the pomegranate – a delicious and mysterious fruit that is packed with antioxidants, and seasonally available around the holidays. I bought two (just in case), but you only need one.

De-seeding a pomegranate is a messy (but worth it) activity. Start by trimming the top off and then scoring all around the outer skin (be careful not to cut all the way through).

Then let the fruits soak in a bowl of water for about 10 minutes – this helps soften the pith and flesh, and makes it easier for the seeds to pop out nice and clean.

When you’re ready, roll up your sleeves and dig in. Break the poms apart and carefully pluck the seeds out into the water bowl. In the end, the seeds will sink and the pith will float – easily separating the useable fruit from the scraps.

Quite possibly the most gorgeous fruit of all. I am totally in love.

And while I wanted to simply sit and pop pomegranate seeds into my mouth all afternoon, there was cake to be baked…

Take a 9 inch spring form pan and line it with foil. Then using either a stick of Earth Balance or cooking spray, grease the foil to prep for baking. Since we’re getting things ready, go ahead and pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees.

Onto the FOOD!&
#160; Start by adding 1/2 cup pomegranate seeds, 1 cup dried cranberries, 1/3 cup Earth Balance, and the entire jar of fig jam to a sauce pot. Figs are another one of those exotic fruits that just scream special occasion to me.

Bring the mixture up to a boil, stirring frequently to melt the butter and combine. Mmmmmm.

While your mixture cooks, shake the other 1/2 cup of pomegranate seeds into the bottom of the lined spring form pan.

And once the mixture has come to a boil, carefully pour it into the base of the pan.

Spread evenly across the bottom so that the mixture reaches all sides. Set pan aside and pull out your cake ingredients.

Here’s the thing about pumpkin – it doesn’t really taste like…anything. Aside from its great nutritional qualities, pumpkin is actually kind of blah on its own.

The key is in the SPICES. Cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, allspice, and ginger – a timeless combination that makes pumpkin spring to life, and what gives this cake its wonderful spiced flavor. Add all of the pumpkin spices, as well as flour, baking powder, and baking soda to a mixing bowl and whisk to combine.

In a separate bowl, use a stand or hand mixer to combine 1/4 each Earth Balance butter and shortening until well combined.

Add the granulated sugar and beat about 30 seconds.

In the meantime, it’s time to prep two of the handy secrets (not really) to vegan baking. In the science that is vegan baking, there are ways to substitute just about everything, including eggs and buttermilk.

First up the “eggs” – actually a mixture of ground flax meal and water. Add 2 tbsp flax and 6 tbsp water to a small bowl. Stir to combine and set aside for about 5 minutes to thicken.

Next up, “buttermilk” – actually a mixture of lemon juice and almond milk. Add 2 tsp lemon juice to a measuring cup, and then fill to the 3/4 cup mark with almond milk. Set aside for a few minutes to let the milk “curdle” (that’s a good thing, I promise).

Add the flax egg to the mixture and beat to combine, followed by the star of the show – the pumpkin.

Alternate adding the “buttermilk” and the flour mixture until everything is combined. Make sure to scrape down the sides!

Once the batter is mixed, carefully pour the mixture on top of the preserves layer on the bottom of the spring form pan.

And then gently spread the cake batter evenly to the edges…

Pop it into a 350 degree oven for about 45-55 minutes. Say a prayer.

The final product should be delicious golden brown on top with a fun surprise waiting underneath. Jiggle it to make sure it’s cooked all the way through, and test with a toothpick that comes out clean.

Now comes the scary part – the FLIP! I enlisted Casey’s help for this step so that I could capture the process. First, remove the spring form outer layer, and peel back the foil from the sides of the cake. Then invert a cake stand on top of the (bottom of) the cake. Close your eyes and FLIP!

Whew! No cake on my floor, and no signs of disaster.

Remove the base of the spring form pan and carefully remove the foil layers. I literally gasped out loud when I saw the final product waiting underneath…

First thing going on my Christmas list this year? An ice cream scoop. And another piece of this cake.

I’m going to be honest. Until this challenge, I have never considered myself to be a very capable baker. But you went to culinary school – people always say. True true, but in 10 months of intense courses, I probably baked for a total of 5 days. I can cook vegetables with my eyes closed, but baking scares me.

So when faced with challenge #8, and the somewhat daunting task of creating a pumpkin baked good, I dug deep to find my inner baker. I am happy to report that it turns out she was in there after all.

Wow. I love how you have the standalone pomegranate seeds at the bottom and THEN the sweet, delicious fig and pomegranate topping. And it’s so cool how this doesn’t need frosting because the fruit looks like a truly delicious topping.

Emily,
This is the best. Can’t wait to try it. Trying to watch my white flour but might have to just go for it. Wonder if I could do 1/2 white and wheat flour?
Good job you are indeed a baker plus everything else. So proud. I believe you’ve done it again.
Go girl.
Lancaster Co PA Gal

Thanks for the tip on how to get the pomegranate seeds out! I bought one from Whole Foods when they first stocked them this year and had a heck of a time getting them out. I had sworn them off until I just read this. Now I’m dying to buy another and try it your way.

This sounds and looks so incredibly good! I have to share it with my daughter (who is vegan). I’m a pom-lover so I must try this!
I think you’ve accomplished a wonderful recipe that is both simple and beautiful! Can’t wait to taste it!

I managed to find a jar in the cheese area, but there was none to be found in their jam section. Crazy!

I do have a question about the shortening- do I need that? What might be a good replacement? It doesn’t have to be a vegan substitute as I’m already planning on using butter (bought a ton at WF when it was on special). TIA!

Wow. Impressed doesn’t not even begin to describe how I feel about this post. Your photos are looking great, the recipe is seasonal + original, the dessert looks gorgeous, and you made pumpkin ice cream!!! Something I’ve been meaning to do but haven’t gotten around to it. So amazed Emily!! xo

This looks so delicious! I am definitely voting for this one tomorrow :) I have two questions though:
1. Why did you reserve half of the pom arils and sprinkle them on the bottom instead of mixing them all into the fig/butter stuff?
2. What was the purpose of the tin foil?

I’m only asking because I’m so… efficient (lazy) that I was wondering if it would drastically harm things if I tried making this without including these steps

The cake looks lovely! One thing – canned pumpkin definately doesnt have much flavor. I highly recommend making your own pumpkin puree sometime! It’s very quick and easy – just cut a pumpkin in half and scoop out the seeds and stringy parts(any will do, just as long as its not one that was carved and left sitting around as a decoration), put cut side down on a baking sheet in the oven at 350-ish for about an hour. Once cooled, scoop out the flesh into your food processor and puree to your desired consistency. THAT is what pumpkin is supposed to taste like!

I have been wanting to try pomegranate in a recipe and this sounds perfect! You did an amazing job. Also, the reason I love blogs is because I always learn something new. I had never heard of a springform pan, but I researched it because of your post. Thank for this amazing recipe!

This is a beautiful and creative recipe! I’ve never made an upside down cake – they intimidate me! I may need to try this one for Christmas. I love the colors, the ingredients, the look – just perfect! You definitely have my vote!

beautiful! and what has stood out to me about your various entries is how healthy they are. hope you win and send the message boldly that delicious, gorgeous food can also be healthy. or, as you have so articulately stated: making healthy the new normal. yes you are!

The first photograph looks like it belongs in a magazine! Such a happy winter image.

I promised a friend to make her some sort of delicious vegan baked good for Christmas (even though I’m just vegetarian right now), so it looks like I’ll be taking a trip to Whole Foods for those fig preserves!! :-) Thanks, as always, for the exciting recipe.

thank you for the tip on removing the seeds from the pomegranate. I worked with one for the first time on Thanksgiving and removing the seeds was much more difficult than I had envisioned. I will definitely try your tip next time. And a beautiful and creative dessert.

Thanks for the tip regarding pomegranates! My husband is Persian and he grew up devouring the seeds, but the process of retrieving them is painful (which I can attest to now as I have had to remove seeds from the fruit alongside my husband, sister-in-law, and mother-in-law). I showed the tutorial to my husband last night and he said it was the easiest time he’s ever had getting seeds out of the fruit. We are a happy household today! :)

I just made this for a potluck (I also made a mini one in a ramekin so I could try it before the potluck) and OH MY GOODNESS! It is amazing!!! And every step was so easy and looked just like your pictures! I love your blog and this cake…Please keep up the good work!

Someone else emailed me to tell me they are doing that. I believe she is going to try using dried figs in some juice and honey, and reducing that down into a thick sauce. I think it will work! Just make sure you have enough – at least a cup’s worth. You could also just sub a different flavored jam if that’s easier – raspberry or mixed berry or something like that might be good.

Ok, I made this last night and it was AMAZING! A huge hit at a dinner party at my boss’s house.

To sub for the fig jam, I boiled 20 oz of dried figs (stems snipped off) in water to cover with a big blob of honey, until some of the figs started to burst and the water turned a molasses color. Then I pureed them in the cuisinart. It looked thicker than fig jam, judging from your photos, so I added an extra 2 tbsp earth balance to the topping mixture. I think it made like 3 cups of fig puree, which I used all of for an extra thick topping. So good!

Thanks Emily! I made the cake and it was by far the best thing I’ve ever baked. I can’t wait to make it for my family Christmas party. I just posted about it on my blog to share with my friends and fam about how good it was. Easy to make too. Thanks again!

This cake was so amazing! the combination of flavors is so genius, subtle and charming without being pretentious, thank you so much, vegan baking can often be merely translating recipes from the contemporary vernacular of chocolate cakes and ice cream into the equal, but sometimes boring vegan version, this is so innovative! thank you again.

I believe I saw this same Vegan ice cream flavor at The Jif Freeze many years ago! Your scoop looks like you didn’t use the tennis ball method ;) I will have to ask Santa for a Ice Cream Maker this year so I too can try this dessert.